I have always thought of myself as "weak" when it came to prayer. I love words so much that reading the Bible and thinking about it comes pretty naturally, but praying has always left me impatient. I guess I just don't usually believe that it actually makes a difference. It doesn't seem productive.
But I've also wanted that to change, and so after reading Paul Miller's book on prayer, The Praying Life, (to order on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Life-Connecting-Distracting-World/dp/1600063004/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248979903&sr=1-1) I decided to try praying more intentionally. I made up prayer cards that I flip through and write down people's names or requests or verses or whatever. And as I've been doing that, people have come to mind.
A few weeks ago, a friend of ours kept crossing my mind as I was praying. I never pray for him or his family, but I thought I might start. So I wrote him to find out what was going on in his life, and he responded that things are really rough right now as his wife just got very sick and he's thinking of leaving his job. So it was as if the Holy Spirit was trying to get some friends on board to support them. A few weeks later, the same thing happened with another friend.
I suppose it could be coincidence--who doesn't have areas of their life where they need prayer? And I supposed these stories could easily come across as if I'm a super-pious person. But I'm just a weak pray-er who is trying to believe that it matters when we talk to God. It's what Jesus talked about--faith like a mustard seed can still change things. Give God an inch, he'll give back a mile. It's a tremendous encouragement to me in this fledgling prayer place to see that God is actually present in our prayers and wants to communicate with us and wants us to participate in the work He's doing to heal and restore.
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4 comments:
Amy Julia,
What a great summary of prayer..."give God an inch and he'll give you a mile"! I am constantly relearning how to pray, I think mainly because my heart keeps forgetting the simplicity of being like a child.
Paul Miller
I too have learned to listen to that still, small Voice when I feel prompted (ever so gently) to pray for a situation or person that seemingly comes out of nowhere. I have resisted the temptation to dismiss the thought and blame it on my over-active imagination...and instead just pray. If I'm wrong and it was my own distracted thoughts, then what could it hurt? But if it really is the Lord prompting me and I choose to follow that lead, then what could be better for that circumstance or friend than to be prayed for in God's timing?
I want to continue to focus on this throughout the year. Thanks for sharing...I miss you! michelle
I have been struggling with the "productiveness" of prayer time myself. My engineering mind is always trading the opportunity cost of quiet time praying against other beneficial activities and then trying to multiplex prayer with daily chores, driving, etc.
Your post really encouraged me to spend more time in concentrated prayer.
Thanks,
Landon D.
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